Writings, observations and ideas either caused by or meant to induce a minor disruption.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Saint Jude Novena

Saint Jude is the Patron Saint of Dislocations. Okay, as far as I know, there’s no patron saint of blogs and I typed this for one reason, google hits. It’s all about key words. I have been getting better at looking at the analytics for Dislocations, and one of the most viewed pages is this one on the remarkable, somewhat unsettling statue of Saint Lucy at Saint Michael’s Church. If you type in patron saint of dislocations, this blog item is like right near the top. Sorry, if you are looking to a Saint to pray for physical dislocations. The title of this blog I just sort of came up with, and these dislocations are more about the psyche than the physical..

In any event, last year I posted here and a bit more of its history here about the Saint Jude Novena. Novena means nine and today, October 20th begins nine days of consecutive prayer and meditation that culminates in a solemn mass on Saint Jude’s feast day of October 28th. Saint Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases and desperate situations. We can all use his help, I know I have.

This novena has been going in Jersey City since the 30s and likely before. I noticed this plaque by the shrine to Jude at Saint Michael, which is on 9th street near Hamilton Park. Class of 1972—the high school is long closed—I think that indicates longevity. One of the real hidden parts of Downtown Jersey. You don’t read about it in Weekend’s Best Bets or other sources of what to do in town, but there it is and it is happening now.